CenterPoint Energy raising gas rate 6.9%
Customers of Center-Point Energy will see their monthly bills increase about 6.9 percent this summer, the natural-gas utility said in a filing with the Arkansas Public Service Commission. The utility has about 415,000 customers in Arkansas.
A customer with a $50 monthly CenterPoint bill last summer will pay about $53.45 this summer.
The three natural-gas utilities in the state are raising their rates because the cost of natural gas has risen significantly since last summer, said John Bethel, executive director of the commission’s general staff.
SourceGas Arkansas, which has about 154,000 customers in north Arkansas, will raise its rate 10.8 percent this summer, meaning a customer with a $50 gas bill last summer will pay about $55.40 this summer.
Arkansas Oklahoma Gas, with about 45,000 customers in the Fort Smith area, is raising its rate 13 percent. A customer with a bill of $50 last summer will pay about $56.50 this summer.
The utilities are not allowed to profit on their fuel costs, Bethel said.
- David Smith
Buzz Airways readies flights from Branson
Buzz Airways will begin seasonal, nonstop flights from Branson to Chicago Midway and Houston Hobby airports June 12.
Service will run six days a week through September and fill some of the void left when Southwest Airlines ends service to the Branson market June 8.
Buzz Airways is part of Corporate Flight Management, which specializes in charter flights for sports teams, government contracts and entertainers. A company representative said limited demand for charter flights from NCAA athletic departments in the summer months prompted Buzz Airways to branch out into commercial flights.
Matt Chaifetz, chief commercial officer of corporate flight management, said the flights’ success will be evaluated and the company would consider extending service after the summer.
- Chris Bahn
Arkansas Index falls 1.24, ends at 339.94
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, dropped 1.24 to 339.94 Thursday.
“U.S. stocks ended lower on Thursday as the markets await [today’s] employment report for March,” said John Blackwell, senior vice president and managing director of equity trading at Stephens Inc. in Little Rock.
Acxiom shares fell 2.6 percent in light trading.
Murphy Oil fell 2.5 percent on heavy volume.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Business, Pages 27 on 04/04/2014